Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth

Every quarterback dreams of leading their team to the College Football Playoff, but only few get the opportunity. As we enter November in college football, just over 20 teams are still in the mix for the expanded CFP and John Mateer of Washington State is currently the quarterback of one of them. This WSU signal caller joined the Y-Option podcast, fueled by our founding partner 76, for the first time to talk about this Cougars season, his path from the 119th ranked QB in the class of 2022 to Heisman Trophy candidate and the mindset of “America’s Team” under Jake Dickert in the final month of the season.

Jim Thornby and I also dive into a huge weekend in the Big Ten and the road trips for both the Arizona Wildcats and the Arizona State Sun Devils in the new look Big-12. In addition, will my Pitt Panthers keep it rolling at SMU in a battle of unbeatens in ACC conference play? Plus, we get ready for Halloween as the Dodgers easily made the West Coast proud.

I’m off to Nebraska for the Cornhuskers and the UCLA Bruins with bowl eligibility at top of mind for both teams. As always, enjoy the weekend and be sure to follow Y-Option on social media.

Happy Halloween!

Yogi

The episode was executive produced by Jim Thornby and Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

“The games they remember are in November.”

With Week 9 in the rearview mirror, I'm reminded of a quote from good friend Rick Neuheisel and with the nation's top team, Oregon, heading to The Big House to face defending National Champion Michigan this weekend that is easily true.

Today’s Y-Option podcast, fueled by our founding partner 76, features a man who knows the Maize & Blue well. Former Michigan All-American tight end Jake Butt joins the show for the first time to share insight on his school, as he was on this past weekend's call of Michigan’s win over rival Michigan State. The Wolverines finally had consistent play from the quarterback room even as they played 2 with Davis Warren and Alex Orji, showcasing big-play potential against Jonathan Smith’s Spartans.

Jake will also be on the call for USC at Washington this Saturday. The Trojans and Dawgs are longtime foes, but this will be their first contest in the new look B1G.

We also discuss the Big Ten race, my conversation with legendary coach Nick Saban, the upcoming CFP rankings and how the Washington State Cougars are still in the mix for all of the things.

And as always, we celebrate our Y-Option Go Go Go Awards as Fernando Mendoza, Makai Lemon, Ansel Din-Mbuh and Kalani Sitake took home the awards from Week 9, presented by our founding partner 76.

Hope you enjoy today’s episode, let us know what you might have asked Coach Saban if you had the chance on social media

Much love,

Yogi

This episode is executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Week 9 arrives as does ESPN’s College GameDay into Bloomington, Indiana. Last week it was Big Noon Kickoff at IU and this Saturday comes another party, as undefeated #13 Indiana hosts Washington on the Big Ten Network. I’ll be on the call alongside Guy Haberman, Rhett Lewis and our incredible crew. 

In today’s episode we welcome Washington head coach Jedd Fisch back to the podcast thanks to our founding partners 76. Coach Fisch and I met back in 2009 while both interviewing for the Seattle Seahawks. He took the job and I pivoted out of coaching and into the media. Since then we have had numerous conversations about building a program, his approach to quarterbacks and much more. Today we discuss the upcoming 9 a.m. PT kickoff and what they call it, what year one at Washington has been like and the impact of Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and Sean McVay on his vision at UW.

Jim Thornby and I also take a deep dive into the game that might impact the College Football Playoff lens on the West Coast in a major way with #17 Boise State visiting UNLV, as well which of the now 9 undefeated teams (we taped this before Liberty’s loss Wednesday night) will remain without a loss after this weekend’s slate. Spoiler, my #19 Pitt Panthers will keep it rolling in an old school Big East re-match on Thursday night with Larry Fitzgerald in attendance :).

As always, thank you for the love and support and enjoy Week 9!

Yogi

This episode was executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Week 8 has come and gone and college football is delivering in every imaginable and unimaginable way. 2024 has delivered epic wins, a new number one team in the land, wild finishes and sadly, now some coaching changes.

Today’s podcast highlights the Y-Option Go Go Go award winners from this past weekend, a deep dive into the Oregon Ducks, Utah Utes, Colorado Buffaloes and the USC Trojans.

We also welcome into the Y-Option studio, thanks to our founding partner 76, Dan Rubenstein. He co-hosts one of college football's most popular podcasts – The Solid Verbal – and personally inspired me to start a podcast almost a decade ago. As an Oregon alum, Dan is dialed in on all things Ducks and we explore what he trusts the most about this year's squad after their dominant win at Purdue on a Friday night. We also talk about how we both view the USC Trojans, who have lost 4 games by a total of 14 points. Finally, we compare some of the West Coast’s top teams to pizza, as Dan is a well-known connoisseur of pizza. You won’t want to miss that!

Jim Thornby and I also discuss what is happening at Utah, as Andy Ludwig abruptly resigned on Sunday and offensive analyst Mike Bajakian has taken over the play calling. We have a thoughtful and blunt conversation around the move in Salt Lake City, as well as Cam Rising’s future.

Personally, I’d like to say thank you to so many of you who sent in personal notes after reading our Sunday Newsletter as I reflected on my late Mom, who impacted me in so many powerful ways.

Much love,

Yogi

This episode is executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Week 8 has arrived and Y-Option has you covered with college football through the lens of the West Coast along with special guest Max Browne.

To kick things off, we think Saturday has the best individual matchup of the season with Travis Hunter of Colorado facing Tetairoa McMillan of Arizona. Last year, I was able to call that game and it came down to the final snap and this year, all 32 NFL teams will be glued to every snap when the nation's top DB lines up opposite the nation's top WR. 

I’m off to the east coast for UCLA at Rutgers on FS1, as both teams need a win. The rest of the slate is full of sneaky good games, trap games or must-win games. Action with the West Coast schools kicks off Friday night with Oregon at Purdue in a classic trap game while the action wraps up Saturday with UNLV at Oregon State and an old school Mountain West Conference game with Utah and TCU. Jim Thornby and I dive into the X’s and O’s of each game, the narrative around Dan Lanning’s “loophole” shared around social media and Cam Rising’s impact at Utah.

Thanks to our founding partner 76, we also had Max Browne, the lead analyst at The CW, join the podcast to share his insight on the ACC and Pac-12 and explain how a fun social media post turned into the biggest interview of his career with the Governor of Minnesota & possible U.S. Vice President Tim Walz at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Max shared insights into how he even got the interview, as well details on their conversation. We also dove into the concept around being a backup QB, how to navigate the world of social media in that role and the reality of being at your best when you do step onto the field.

As always, be sure to follow @YOptionfb all weekend long as our social media is dialed in!

Thanks for the love and support, off to Piscataway!

Yogi

This episode is executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Week 7 is in the books and it was one we will be talking about for the rest of the season. As the CFP conversation begins to heat up, this past Friday and Saturday’s games will serve as a weekend full of data that will be re-visited time and time again in the first year of the 12-team playoff system.

The Ducks took down Ohio State in an instant classic, Penn State and Tyler Warren came from behind to beat USC in LA and the often-called “sleeping giant,” otherwise known as ASU, came to life upsetting Utah at home.

Thanks to our founding partner 76, longtime college football reporter and current NBC Sports College Football Insider Nicole Auerbach joined today’s episode and took us inside her experience on the set of NBC as they had the Ducks and Buckeyes on their network. She also shared her thoughts on Notre Dame’s path to the CFP, Dan Lanning’s program taking up space in college football and provided clarity on recent legislation around recruiting.

Nicole also reflects on her path from a child cheering on the New York Jets to now, inspiring the next generation of broadcasters, as she continues to ascend in her career as both an insider and an analyst on the set of NBC. This conversation will leave you inspired, informed and intrigued with the present and the future of college football.

Much love,

Yogi

This episode is executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

It’s finally here, Ohio State at Oregon. 

The game we have all been talking about and with both teams ranked #2 and #3 respectively in the AP Poll, its the first ever AP Top 5 matchup at Autzen Stadium. ESPN College GameDay is en route to Eugene (a 2nd straight week on the West Coast!) for 2 teams that mirror one another AND with Chip Kelly returning it’s safe to say this game will have everyone's eyes on it this Saturday.

In advance, thanks to our founding partners at 76, we welcome former Duck and NFL safety Verone McKinley III. In 2021, he had the game-clinching interception on the road against then #3 Ohio State in an epic game. Three years later, the Buckeyes visit the Ducks in a now Big Ten conference game in what will be a phenomenal stage.

We dove into all things “big game” mentality. How do players block out the ‘noise,’ what will Verone and I be looking forward to on Saturday and will these teams meet again in the postseason?

In addition, Jim Thornby and I discuss what was “Upset Saturday” with 5 of the top 11 teams losing - all on the road, the environment as Minnesota beat then #11 USC and some surprises at the top of each conference in college football and how they could impact a potential Pac-12 trip to the CFP.

Be sure to follow @Yoption all week as we preview games in college football through the lens of the West Coast, with a little extra attention paid to the Ducks and the Buckeyes.

Much love,

Yogi

This episode is executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

It’s a week of firsts!

ESPN College GameDay is coming to Berkeley for the first time ever.

I’m off to call a game at Minnesota for the first time ever.

And Cal Head Coach Justin Wilcox was a guest on a podcast for the first time EVER!

Thankfully it was here at Y-Option.

I’ve known Coach Wilcox for almost 20 years and while he is gifted as a coach, talented as a leader, and thoughtful as a friend, what always stands out to me is his humility.

The son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Dave Wilcox, Justin could have easily felt that life would be handed to him as a player or given a pass as a coach, but none of that happened. He earned it all. First as a QB turned DB at Oregon and then as a young assistant turned head coach in college football. And while a ton changes around him, his humility remains the same – Elite.

He notably states with great pride that he is the ‘Son of a Hall of Farmer,’ as Dave loved being on his tractor on their farm and I can’t help but imagine how much joy his Dad would have sitting in his recliner on Saturday taking in the festivities of ESPN College GameDay and the contest against Mario Cristobal and the Miami Hurricanes

He joined the Y-Option podcast to talk about Cal having college football’s most iconic spotlight on it as Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Nick Saban, Desmond Howard, Lee Corso, Pat McAfee and company come to Berkeley. Justin shared that he will be on the ESPN set Saturday morning, what makes this team of 50 newcomers on it a joy to coach and how they will try to stop Cam Ward (a familiar face on the West Coast) and the #8 ranked Canes.

Enjoy this conversion with Cal Bears Head Coach Justin Wilcox, fueled by our founding partner in 76, as he continues to take Cal Football to special places.

Plus a preview of the weekend ahead in College Football as we reach Week 6.

Much love,

Yogi

This episode was executive produced by Jim Thornby & edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Y-Option: College Football with Yogi Roth is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Week 6 is here and Bruce Feldman joined Y-Option to break it all down. Bruce was a student reporter at “The U”, as in Miami, and the West Coast is abuzz as College GameDay heads to Berkeley for the first time EVER! He offers insight and analysis into Mario Cristobal’s team, which Bruce thinks is their most talented team in 20 years.

Having played on the same field as that team 22 years ago, I’d have to agree.

This year's ‘Canes may not be better, but they have a QB who is simply special in Cam Ward.

Former Cal WR, founder of Elite 11, and mentor Andy Bark reminded me today that the state of California has always had an impact on the QB position at Miami. Players like Heisman winner Gino Torretta, Ken Dorsey, Kyle Wright, Brad Kaaya and more have been gone from the Golden State to QB1 for the Hurricanes. Ironically, the Cal Bears starting QB Fernando Mendoza hails from Miami and Christopher Columbus High School, which Mario Cristobal also attended. To add to it, Cristobal was high school teammates with Mendoza’s father, Fernando Sr. To say the college football community is small is an understatement when it comes to this Miami/Cal matchup.

We also explore a conversation around how head coaches navigate the “Financial Chemistry” of their locker room, as players are requesting redshirts before playing in four games and exhausting that season’s eligibility.

When it comes to the rest of the West Coast, the Big-12 is wide open after Arizona’s win over Utah and a huge part of that is Noah Fifita, who also won our That Dude! award this week after his role in the victory. Just like our conversation with Bruce Feldman, all of our Go Go Go Award winners are fueled by our founding partner 76…..

And on the final day of September, we also dive into the College Football Playoff, set the record straight on how to get in and who the Cougs and Beavs should be rooting for the rest of the season.

As always, thank you for the love and support wherever you may be watching and be sure to follow us on YouTube for content all week long.

Much love,

Yogi

This episode was executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren.

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.

Week 5 has arrived and in some ways things have changed in college football and in other respects, it has stayed the same.

Arizona heads to Utah on Friday night in a Big 12 clash and while the starting QB for the Utes is not solidified, we do know that the depth, talent and coaching acumen at Utah remains elite. And I highly doubt they have forgotten the last :37 ticks of last year’s game vs the Wildcats.

In this episode we had Bill Riley, longtime voice of the Utes, on the Y-Option podcast to share his insights on #10 ranked Utah football team as well as offer an update on his new endeavor as Utah Athletics’ Director of Broadcasting. Bill has always been a great friend who is both kind and insightful, as well as brilliant at his craft and willing to share his knowledge. It was a fun conversation around a program that had a big impact on my life on-air and personally. 

Walking through Salt Lake City on a fall weekend was always a joy, as the Ute fans love their team and appreciate a thoughtful conversation. Take a listen, as Bill is one of a kind and gifted at his craft.

Speaking of gifted, the #8 Oregon Ducks visit the Rose Bowl for their 1st Big Ten contest against UCLA after a bye week while #13 USC hosts Wisconsin in their first home game in the B1G. The rest of the slate for the West Coast is full of compelling conference games with Washington State off to face future Pac-12 mate Boise State, which has always proven to be a challenging place to play on the blue turf. Washington visits Rutgers on a Friday night in what has been deemed a “Blackout” in what should be an electric Piscataway, NJ. Stanford visits #17 Clemson and if they can pull this off, look out Nerd Nation, the Cardinal are back in a massive way.

Finally, Jim Thornby and I had a deep conversation around UNLV quarterback Matthew Sluka, which we hope you enjoy. From the financial chemistry of a locker room, Sluka navigating this world for the first time and that this is unlikely “1 of 1” when it comes to players asking to save a redshirt season.

I’m off to Chicago for a weekend in the Big Ten Network studio and will be sure to send some pictures of Ashley Adamson and our crew from the midwest as games will be rolling from 9am PT to near midnight PT. As always, much love and many thanks for the constant support for Y-Option and this endeavor as your support is what allows it to continue.

Much love,

Yogi

The episode was executive produced by Jim Thornby and edited by Victor Ren

This podcast is a Best Coast Media production.